Wirecard Bank AG is the first German bank to set up shop in 3D online world, Second Life. The bank's virtual arm went live in mid-May and has been dubbed a "strategic positioning" by execs. Sounds impressive, but is it? Horace Artaud rocked up, ABN AMRO T-shirt and all, to find out...
Ha, but before I shut down all my other apps and boot up the Leviathan that is Second Life, let's check out what they have to say in their
release. Well, as with ABN AMRO, it appears specially trained personnel will be manning the branch as avatars, and will be on hand to answer any questions regarding the bank, its products and services.
Enter Burkhard Ley, Wirecard Chief Financial Officer, at 30,000ft: "The intelligent link between technology and banking services is an objective that has been pursued by Wirecard Bank AG from the outset. To reinforce this strategic positioning on the market, the commitment to Second Life represents a logical step as far as we are concerned."
Enough of the talk Burky boy, let's get in there and see if Wirecard walks the walk.
––––––––––––––––––––––
I kind of expect someone to appear and ask me how I am the moment I materialize in the entrance area to the bank, and that's exactly what happens. But this person isn't a red-head like the fiery Amber over at
ABN, she's a blond called Rebecka Beaumont with the body of a supermodel (well, probably more glamour model on closer inspection). Don't you just love the Germans?
Me meeting Rebecka for the first time.
Cue the usual small talk. A few minutes in, I innocently ask Rebecka how long Wirecard have been here, and she says around two weeks, which is spot on. I ask her if it's busy in here, and she says, well, at the moment they're getting 10–20 visitors a day, but "hopefully more soon". She says Wirecard are here to help promote the
Wirecard Virtual Mastercard, which makes sense to me. In the corner of my eye, I spot somebody else in blue get-up walking around outside. She says that's her colleague, Isabell. My mind starts to race.
But, like Bond, I have a job to do. So, what exactly happens around here? She points over to some computers on the other side of the room, which I quickly wander over to (walking backwards to prevent her seeing the words 'ABN AMRO' on my back and rumbling me). It's the usual thing — takes you through to the website if you click on one. They are surrounded by large banners explaining the advantages of Wirecard, which, as far as I can gather, competes with PayPal and Western Union.
Me staring at an in-branch computer, and reading some ads.
I wander back over and say, right, let's imagine I'm a Wirebank customer and have a question about my account. What happens then? She says I simply need to answer a few security questions, as I would if I were using the phone, and then I can ask her anything I like. I quite like the idea of this. Especially as, according to Second Life, I'll soon be able to actually speak within this virtual world (with the help of a headset, naturally).
So, what else is there to do around here? She says there's a speedboat, but she's not allowed to drive it during working hours, which throws me into a state of confusion. Like shouldn't you be trying to entertain me and make me an advocate of the Wirecard brand? It's not as if there's much else to do. There's also some sort of golf game but, as happens all too often on Second Life unless you're working off Hal or some other huge rig, my computer crashes as we fly towards it.
I go and grab a real-world sandwich and coke. Back soon.